ASCEND TRACKS
assignments designed to develop and refine your skill, and hands-on project experience in your field.
DON'T JUST STUDY. BUILD AND APPLY SKILL
THROUGH FIELD SPECIFIC CURRICULUM AND
REAL WORLD PROJECTS
Track students don’t just study under a field professional, they complete real projects, building, refining, and proving their skill.
Every track includes quarterly opportunities for students to bid on real projects for real organizations. Winning bids will result in paid client work for students. Bids are not guaranteed and are strictly dependent on the student’s work and the client’s decision to choose their bid or not.
WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE A TRACK?
Curriculum is unique to each track and will include content delivered through live and/or recorded lectures, book studies, and hands-on assignments.
Engage in live sessions, report on assignments, get feedback, and connect with peers pursuing the same field.
Immediately apply what you are learning by submitting project bids to real businesses. Students who sin bids will gain opportunities to complete the project for pay.
EXPLORE AVAILABLE TRACKS
Digital Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Learn the core foundations of how modern digital marketing works, which channels you need to master, and how to sell your skills as a service. Coursework will include practical, right-now examples from the instructor’s actual clients and projects will provide great opportunities to rapidly take learning into real world application.
- Introduction to the 5A Funnel: Awareness, Attraction, Acquisition, Activation, Advocacy
- Conducting market research
- Understanding branding, messaging, and positioning
- Copywriting 101
- Organic and paid social media advertising
- Email marketing
- Forming a strategic plan
- Rhythms and reporting
- Standing up your very own digital marketing business
- Design and build a high-converting landing page for a specific business offering.
- Audit and redesign an existing business or vendor website for usability and conversions.
- Develop a full campaign proposal for a seasonal event (strategy, channels, timeline, KPIs).
- Write and schedule a 5–7 email nurture sequence for prospective students or customers.
- Create a social media content calendar for a local business (30–60 days).
- Conduct market research and competitor analysis for a new business offering.
- Develop a referral or ambassador program for student recruitment.
- Optimize SEO for key website pages or vendor listings.
- Plan and execute a small paid ad campaign (budget allocation, targeting, reporting).
- Build a partnership marketing plan with local businesses or organizations.
TREY SHENEMAN is founder and CEO of Herald – a growth advisory firm for mission-minded brands. Over the last 15 years, Trey has led growth for several public figure brands like John Maxwell and Dave Ramsey, and national and international products ranging from the professional services arena all the way through to software and e-commerce. He has personally directed nearly $30M in advertising spend during that period and led teams producing nearly of $500M in revenue. He currently lives in Franklin, TN with his wife and two children. His greatest mission to love God, serve others, and help Faith-driven leaders understand how to unlock their God-sized potential.
Writing & Publication
Gain sound, current teaching, training, and resources in all aspects of writing as a profession, and emerge with foundational understanding of industry language, professional expectations, and the actionable steps required to establish a writing career. Students who bid on projects will gain additional opportunities to take what they are learning into the real world completing real projects for real businesses.
- Writing as a profession
- Messaging and theme
- Marketing and the business of writing
- What it means to “serve your audience” through marketing
- Marketing for self and traditional publishing
- Writing in action
- Proposals, elevator pitches, query letters, and one sheets
- Preparing a pitch portfolio and receiving professional feedback
- Write SEO-optimized blog articles for a specific company.
- Create in-depth guides for purchase decisions around specfic products or services.
- Develop product descriptions for business or vendor offerings.
- Write email newsletters for businesses.
- Create story focused profiles customers to highlight product or service results.
- Draft website copy for new or redesigned pages.
- Write scripts for video content (promo videos, explainers, ads).
- Develop a local tourism or “day trip” guide featuring a local business.
- Create onboarding materials or handbooks for specific services.
ROBYNNE MILLER holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction and Fiction and a B.A. in English Literature. Agented with Books and Such Literary, she is the author of more than ten books and countless articles and essays, including Finding Common Ground: One Octogenarian’s Quest to Help our Nation Heal, The Three Faces of Nellie and her latest project, Tennessee Wildcat: On the Trail of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Mr. Edwards.
When she’s not writing, Robynne directs the Vision Christian Writers Conference at Mt. Hermon, coaches/mentors both beginning and advanced writers, works as a substantive editor, speaks at retreats, workshops, conferences, and events across the country, and teaches the professional writing track she developed for Ascend.
Robynne has a passion for helping writers bring their stories and messages into the world, no matter where they are on their writing journeys.
Videography & Production
Be immersed in the world of videography and develop the ability to produce a range of video styles for YouTube, social media, and professional projects. Curriculum is structured around mentorship and practical coaching, enabling students to take ownership of real-life projects. In this track, you will gain invaluable experience while studying under a professional in the field. Internal assignments along with quarterly project opportunities with real businesses ensure students finish the track not just equipped with technical skills, but with the practical knowledge and proven skill they need to thrive as videographers.
- Intro to the world of videography
- Principles of the frame
- Basic movement and framing
- Basic flow and editing
- Project planning
- Producing and directing
- Lighting
- Sound design
- Committing to a lifestyle of learning and creativity
- Produce a 60–90 second brand story video for a business highlighting product or service outcomes for customers.
- Create product feature videos for local businesses or vendors.
- Film and edit a “day in the life” video series for a business to highlight the customer experience.
- Develop short-form vertical video content (Reels/TikTok) to promote local business or community events.
- Produce testimonial videos from students, parents, or vendors for specific products or services.
- Create instructional videos for specific products or services that businesses can share with customers during on boarding processes.
- Shoot and edit event recap videos (graduations, festivals, workshops).
- Develop a video ad campaign for a specific enrollment or purchase cycle.
- Create a mini-documentary on local businesses or communities and their stories.
- Produce explainer videos for business offerings.
Coming soon.
Art & Design
The Art and Design world is a highly competitive market. Employers often prefer those with experience over those with degrees.
This track delves into a practical look at what it takes to be a professional in both the art and design fields. Students will complete real projects and be able to utilize them in portfolios to further their career.
- Logo design
- Branding
- Portraiture
- Landscape
- Story illustration
- Merch design
- And more!
- Design business card systems for specific business or vendors.
- Create seasonal promotional flyers for local business and community events.
- Design tri-fold brochures for programs, products, or services.
- Develop large-format signage or convention booth displays.
- Create digital ad creative (social media graphics, banner ads).
- Design merchandise collections (t-shirts, tote bags, stickers).
- Build a cohesive brand kit (colors, typography, logo usage) for a new launch.
- Design packaging labels for physical products.
- Create wayfinding signage for local businesses (maps, directional signs).
- Design an illustrated children’s activity booklet tied to local community events or educational programs.
Coming soon.
A.I. for the Greater Good
In a world leaning further and further into a model of AI assisted by humans, this track teaches students how to solve problems by training AI tools to assist them in their work. Studying under field professionals who specialize in using AI while prioritizing humanity, you will learn how to build new skills, apply innovation for the sake of the Gospel, and complete real world projects using AI as a critical tool along the way.
- Mastering the basics of AI as a life tool and how to sue it responsibly to serve your goals.
- Training AI through effective prompts to get useful, accurate, and creative results.
- Using AI to accelerate creative work.
- Using discernment and digital integrity to remain human in a machine driven world.
- Creating AI driven tools, resources, or workflows to serve others.
- Build a chatbot to answer prospective customer questions about specific products or services.
- Develop an AI-powered recommendation tool for matching customers to products or services.
- Create a demand forecasting model for local business vendors that can be used for inventory planning.
- Design an AI system to generate personalized marketing email drafts.
- Build a sentiment analysis tool to evaluate customer feedback.
- Develop an accessibility tool (e.g., auto-captioning or content simplification for materials).
- Create an AI-assisted curriculum helper for students in specific programs (study guides, summaries).
- Build a local food sourcing map using data aggregation and simple AI tagging.
- Design an AI tool that helps vendors price products based on market trends.
- Develop an ethical AI use guide and implementation plan for business operations.
TARA TANKERSLEY has served at Adventures in Missions for over 21 years, currently leading as Director of Administration.
With a strong background in systems thinking and process improvement, Tara has led numerous projects that streamlined operations and introduced AI-powered solutions to improve efficiency and is proficient in a wide range of AI platforms, including ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Grok (xAI), Notion AI, Google Cloud AI, and Jasper. She has applied these tools to content generation, strategic planning, team collaboration, and data analysis. In addition, she brings technical expertise in Python, MySQL, and React, allowing her to design, build, and implement solutions that align with both organizational needs and Kingdom vision.